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Sword Art Online Movie to Be 'Simultaneously Released Worldwide on February 18'

posted on 2016-10-04 00:00 EDT

Film will screen in about 1,000 theaters worldwide; novel series has sold 19 million copies worldwide

Publisher Kadokawa announced on Monday that the Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale anime film ”will be simultaneously released worldwide on February 18, 2017.” The announcement did not offer details on how the film will be released, but the film's staff previously confirmed that the film will screen in about 1,000 theaters worldwide.

The announcement notes that the novel series has sold 19 million copies worldwide, with overseas sales accounting for 6.5 million of that number. The novels have sold 12.5 million copies in Japan, 3.73 million copies in China, 1.45 million copies in Taiwan, 770,000 copies in South Korea, and 370,000 copies in North America and the United Kingdom.

Aniplex of America streamed an English trailer and revealed new characters for the film on Sunday.

Yuna, "an idol in the AR world of Ordinal Scale. If a player encounters her in the game, they can acquire special upgrades."

Dr. Shigemura, "a developer and an authority on non-invasive BMI (Brain Machine Interface) research. He is also a professor in the Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department at Toho Technological University. Due to his radical theories on electrical physiology, his peers regard him as a crackpot."

Eiji, "a mysterious young swordsman, who is the top ranked player in Ordinal Scale. Kirito and his friends encounter him during gameplay."

The film will open in Japan on February 18 in 150 theaters. Aniplex of America confirmed the film's overseas release. The company describes the movie's story:

It's just a game,or so I thought..

A brand new story written by original author, Reki Kawahara!! People everywhere were enjoying a new game called Ordinal Scale, an ARMMORPG developed exclusively for the Augma, a new wearable console designed for AR (augmented reality) gaming. But, the players had no idea that a nightmare from the virtual world was starting to spread into reality!! As his fellow players find themselves in danger, the hero is called upon once again.

The film will feature a returning cast from the previous two anime series, including:

Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Kirito

Haruka Tomatsu as Asuna

Rina Hidaka as Silica/Keiko

Ayahi Takagaki as Lisbeth/Rika

Miyuki Sawashiro as Sinon/Shino

Hiroaki Hirata as Klein/Ryotaro

Kanae Ito as Yui

Ayana Taketatsu as Leafa/Suguha

Hiroki Yasumoto as Agil/Andrew

Kouichi Yamadera as Akihiko Kayaba

The film's all-new original story takes place after the Mother's Rosario arc, which was the final arc depicted in the TV anime's second season. Original light novel author Reki Kawahara is writing the new story for the film. Tomohiko Ito is returning from the two TV anime series and the anime special to direct the film at A-1 Pictures. Shingo Adachi is also returning from the TV anime to design the characters based on abec's original character designs, and Yuki Kajiura is returning to score the music.

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